1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-photographic image forming apparatus and an electro-photographic image forming method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electro-photographic image forming apparatus and an electro-photographic image forming method that form a visualized image on a photosensitive body using a developer composed of a liquid solvent and a particle toner.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional image forming apparatus, which uses this type of electro-photographic recording technology, uses a liquid recovery unit to recover a liquid solvent from the developer and leaves only particle toners on the photosensitive body when the apparatus transfers an image from a photosensitive body onto paper.
In this case, to allow the image forming apparatus to increase the quality of an image to be transferred on paper and to reuse the liquid solvent, it is important to recover all liquid solvents.
For example, according to the art disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 8-166722, a suction fan sucks air from a solvent vapor recovery room, which is filled with solvent vapors and which is formed by having a fixing unit and a paper ejection unit covered by a covering member, via a first duct and a liquefier to recover the liquid solvent for smoothly recovering the solvent vapor.
Also, according to the art disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 8-166721, a solvent vapor is liquefied and the resulting liquid is collected in the liquid acceptor. The collected liquid is then separated into a solvent and water to increase the liquid solvent recovery efficiency.
However, the prior art described above does not disclose a method for recovering a liquid solvent from a developer when an image is transferred from the photosensitive body to paper.
Therefore, there is room for improvement in increasing the quality of printing onto paper. In addition, there is also room for improvement in prolonging the life of a desiccant that dries a liquid solvent into vapor.
It is an object of the present invention to prevent a drying belt from over-absorbing a liquid solvent when printing described above starts, to ensure good printing, and to prolong the life of the drying belt.
An electro-photographic image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a photosensitive belt; electrostatic latent image forming means for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive belt; as many developing means as are necessary for monochrome or multiple-color processing for developing the electrostatic latent image with a liquid toner composed of a particle toner and a liquid solvent; liquid recovery means for recovering only the liquid solvent from a liquid toner image developed on the photosensitive belt; and transfer/fixing means for taking a dried toner image from the photosensitive belt for transferring the toner image to, and fixing the toner image on, paper, wherein the liquid recovery means comprises absorption means that is brought into pressure contact with the photosensitive belt and that has an absorption layer absorbing the liquid solvent into a surface thereof; a heat source that vaporizes the liquid solvent absorbed in the absorption layer of the absorption means; and temperature control means for controlling a temperature of the heat source with a temperature control method that differs between a standby time and a print time.
In addition, the electro-photographic image forming apparatus according to the present invention further comprises means for moistening all of the absorption means with the liquid solvent before a first image is written on the photosensitive belt.
In addition, the means for moistening all of the absorption means with the liquid solvent has liquid supplying means that is separate from the developing means.
In addition, the electro-photographic image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises an actuator that separates the absorption means from the photosensitive belt at the standby time and brings the absorption means into contact with the photosensitive belt and at the print time.